KSAMC confirms building breaches at property owned by Estatebridge

By Prince Moore    

 

The Kingston and St. Andrew Municipal Corporation (KSAMC) says a report submitted by the Chief Engineering Officer confirmed breaches of the approved building permit issued to Estatebridge Holdings Limited.

 

The permit was issued for a residential development at 2 Weycliffe Close, Beverly Hills, Kingston 6, owned by Estatebridge Holdings Limited.

 

The Integrity Commission in its report tabled in the House of Representatives on December 10 had indicated that the company built more rooms than permitted by the KSAMC.

 

Mayor of Kingston Andrew Swaby says Estatebridge applied to the KSAMC seeking to regularise the changes on the same day the Integrity Commission's investigation report into breaches by the company was tabled in Parliament.

 

He said a report submitted by the Chief Engineering Officer outlined breaches. 

 

"The partition walls identified in the Integrity Commission's findings, which were accompanied by photographs from a site visit, were not present during the KSAMC inspection on October 31, 2024. This suggests that modifications had been made to the structure before the KSAMC site visit on October 31, 2024. The chief engineering officer's report therefore could not refute the Integrity Commission's claim that four bedroom units were being constructed at an earlier stage," said the mayor and KSAMC chairman.

 

Mayor Swaby said the KSAMC's internal assessment revealed that the building permit issued to the developer for the construction of an apartment complex in Beverly Hills, St. Andrew expired on July 6, 2023.

 

He said the KSAMC conducted three site visits prior to August 2022, well before the expiration of the permit.

 

But a final inspection, required before the expiration of the permit, was not requested by the applicant nor carried out by the KSAMC.

 

Mr. Swaby admitted that the municipality failed to take action to halt construction after the permit expired, allowing work to continue without authorisation or oversight.

 

He said corrective measures will be implemented to address deficiencies identified within the system. 

 

"To that end, the corporation has already begun to identify reforms for implementation to strengthen its compliance processes. As a part of these efforts, the KSAMC is conducting a comprehensive review of its procedures to ensure thorough inspection of all stages of construction," he declared.